Monday, February 28, 2011

You Need Stupid? Call A New York Democrat...

Oh, they're priceless. This story in the New York Postis primarily about the budget battle, but there are two gems hidden therein. One, the impending doom of New York's "millionaires tax", which kicks in on people making...$200K. Not sure if the Democrats are just mathematically challenged, or simply trying to dupe their constituents. With that particular political party, either answer is equally valid. To be fair, however, this mathematical malaise is not limited strictly to New York - New Jersey's "millionaires tax" - vetoed by Governor Christie - kicked in on all earners hitting the $400K mark.

But that's just the warmup act. Here's the main event:

Brooklyn Democratic Sen. Kevin Parker, who has earned a reputation as a hothead, may soon earn one as an addlebrained fool, with a bizarre scheme to grow palm and other tropical trees and plants along the state Thruway.

Parker, convicted in December of assaulting a Post photographer, last week proposed a green “Thruway to Fuelway” initiative under which bio-fuel crops such as “palm oil, jatropha and mahua” would be grown along the now-snow-lined Thruway’s median strips.

Palm oil, of course, comes from the palm trees that are found in tropical landscapes and, at times, in the Bronx Botanical Gardens’ hothouses.

Jatropha is native to Mexico and Central America and is cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, while mahua is a tropical tree found in India...

What will the New York Democrats come up with next? A wilderness park for endangered dinosaurs? A landing strip for alien aircraft? Turning Broadway into farmland so we can all enjoy locally-grown produce?

Sometimes stupid is funny, but sometimes you need to turn your head away in shame, as you don't even want to be caught watching...